Terry Packard
Creative Memories Consultant
your life|your story|your way
www.mycmsite.com/terrypackard----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Tobey Robison" <trobison@...>
To: "tmp863@..." <tmp863@...>, "Tina Robison-Coberly" <tinarc@...>, "tab1281@..." <tab1281@...>, " Candy Thompson" <candylandva@...>
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 1:50:16 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: FW: The Sack Lunches
Tobey Robison
> *The Sack Lunches
>
> I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my
assigned
> seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book
to
> read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.
>
> Just
before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and
filled all
> the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a
conversation.
>
> 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
> 'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then
we're
> being deployed to Afghanistan
>
> After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack
lunches
> were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we
reached
> the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time...
>
> As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he
> planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a
sack
> lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get
to
> base.'
>
> His friend agreed.
>
> I
looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I
walked to
> the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar
bill.
> 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and
squeezed
> tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a
soldier in
> Iraq; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'
>
> Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers
were
> seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best -
beef or
> chicken?'
> 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to
the
> front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from
first
> class.
>
> 'This is your thanks..'
>
> After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane,
heading for
> the rest room. *
> *A man stopped
me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here,
take
> this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.
>
> Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down
the
> aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not
looking
> for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of
the
> plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and
said,
> 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood
and
> took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a
soldier and
> I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act
of
> kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard
from all
> of the passengers.
>
> Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A
man
> who was seated about six
rows in front of me reached out his hand,
wanting
> to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
>
> When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane.
Waiting just
> inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my
shirt
> pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another
twenty-five
> dollars!
>
> Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their
trip to
> the base. *
> *I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will
take
> you some time to reach the base.. It will be about time for a
sandwich.*
> *God Bless You.'
>
> Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their
fellow
> travelers.
>
> As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe
return.
> These soldiers were giving
their all for our country. I could only
give them
> a couple of meals. It seemed so little...
>
> A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank
check made
> payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to
and
> including my life.'
>
> That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who
no
> longer understand it.'
>
> May God give you the strength and courage to pass this along to
everyone on
> your email buddy list....
>
> I JUST DID
>
>
> Let us pray...
>
> Prayer chain for our Military... Don't break it!
>
> Please send this on after a short prayer.. Prayer for our soldiers
Don't
> break it!
>
> Prayer:
>
> 'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they
protect
> us. Bless them and their
families for the selfless acts they perform
for us
> in our time of need. Amen.'
>
> Prayer Request: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and
say a
> prayer for our troops around the world.
>
> There is nothing attached. Just send this to people in your address
book. Do
> not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine,
Soldier,
> Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in harm's way, prayer is the very
best
> one.
>
> GOD BLESS YOU FOR PASSING IT ON! *
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